After Becoming a Substitute, the Poisonous Jellyfish Got Fat

Alternate title: After Becoming the Mermaid Princess's Substitute, the Venomous Jellyfish Got Fat!

Word has it that the renowned interstellar marshal, a legendary war hero on land, is about to marry the most noble mermaid princess of the undersea kingdom.

Word has it that this cold, abstinent interstellar marshal is devoted to the mermaid princess alone, and has been in love with her for a long time.

And word has it that the peerlessly beautiful mermaid princess already loves someone else, and is so worried about the marriage alliance that she's tearing her hair out.

Bie Yi: "...!!!" An interstellar marshal? The Marshal Kong Zhiyu, the bravest and most skilled warrior in the Cosmic Alliance, who rescued multiple planets occupied by the insectoid race?

As a venomous, mutated jellyfish whose staple food is insectoids, Bie Yi lives on the peaceful planet M and can barely move when hungry. He hasn't had a proper meal in years.

In short, if he marries Kong Zhiyu, won't he be able to eat his fill of insectoids?

*

Kong Zhiyu is forced to marry the mermaid princess, but the next day he leaves for battle after the insectoid army invades Moonstar.

Three days later, exhausted in both body and mind, Kong Zhiyu receives an urgent call from his butler.

Kong Zhiyu hurries home, looks up at a bashful giant black mermaid and the enormous hole in the ceiling, and falls silent.

Then the butler rushes in, looking panicked, to tell him that every fruit and vegetable in the garden has died.

Kong Zhiyu: "..."

As if their already struggling household needed another problem.

*

When Kong Zhiyu's bank balance shrinks from eight digits to four, he has no choice but to raise an objection to the mermaid princess.

"Could you please stop getting bigger?"

Bie Yi pouts, looking wronged. "When I don't get enough to eat, I grow bigger."

After diligently fighting insectoids to feed Bie Yi until he is round-bellied, Kong Zhiyu stares numbly at the huge hole now knocked into the ceiling again.

Bie Yi waves his tentacles and apologetically coos, trying to look cute. "When I'm full, I get even bigger."

Kong Zhiyu: "..." You could've mentioned that sooner.

Bonus scene

Their feelings have grown so much that they've progressed to eating together in the same room.

As they gaze into each other's eyes, both grow curious about the other's food.

On a whim, Bie Yi scoops up a spoonful of delicious insectoid crab leg meat and offers it to Kong Zhiyu.

Believing that it couldn't possibly kill him, Kong Zhiyu opens his mouth...

And in the blink of an eye... his lips swell up like sausages.

Bie Yi's heart clenches. His arm trembles as he points at the roasted insectoid leg. "The insectoids are poisonous!"

Kong Zhiyu glances at the dark liquid beneath Bie Yi and covers his mouth.

He's not blind.

Reader's guide

1. Kong Zhiyu has never seen Bie Yi's face clearly because he's submerged in "ink" and completely black.

2. One-on-one romance, happy ending, cute and sweet. A sugary bedtime read.

Theme: You have to fight for your own happiness.